24 monitoring buoys · 200 W arrays · 1.6 kWh packs
Powering a buoy fleet through the grey season
A monitoring operator needed three weeks of autonomy from a 6 W payload — without a frame that would catch rigging.
- Location
- North Sea, Netherlands
- Installed
- 18 Aug 2026
The buoys sit in a shipping lane and are serviced twice a year. The original design used a framed 100 W panel bolted to the lid; salt had seized the bolts by month fourteen and the panel was shadowed by a radar mast for two hours a day.
We replaced it with two bonded SM-FLEX 200 panels following the lid curvature, a sealed 1.6 kWh pack in the dry compartment and a passive aluminium heat path into the collar. Weight aloft stayed under 12 kg.
After twelve months the payload has logged 99.2% uptime, including a nine-day overcast period in February. Service visits are still twice a year — but now they are inspections, not repairs.